Grey Matter
by snowskull123
Summary: Tag to Shades of Grey. In this universe Daniel is Danielle. In the aftermath of Jack's undercover stint the team wrestles with their emotions and thoughts. But when General Hammond assigns them to a mission along with Janet and it takes an unexpected and dangerous turn, the team must pull through and save themselves along with their friendships.
1. Chapter 1

NOTE:

Hello! I know this plot has been WAY overdone but I have been wanting to do this for a while and i figured that the aftermath would be different with Danielle rather than Daniel. Anyways, I own nothing. Enjoy!

! #$%^&*

Danielle didn't like chairs.

Perhaps a petty and small object to dislike, but she disliked them all the same. The Abydonians didn't have chairs. Abydos is, or was, her home. She respected their culture and grew to love it, even the small quirks. And that included a dislike of chairs. The floor was more natural, closer to the center of the planet. Closer to where they buried their dead. Chairs were unnecessary and created a sense of separation, isolation.

So as Danielle slammed her door to her office she kicked the chair aside, deeming it an unnecessary piece of furniture. The floor was more down to earth. Made her feel alive and more at home, even if the cold, disconnected grey floor was a disturbing contrast to the beautiful warm sand and dirt on Abydos.

She slid down the wall, feeling the jolt of slight pain through her body as she hit the floor. She had just lied. Lied to her friends, her family.

Actually, technically, that wasn't true. She had deceived them.

The slightly teasing glint in her eyes as she told Jack they had drawn straws, and the nods of acceptance at the right places during his clumsy apology had all been fake. She had become very adapt at lying when she was a child, going through the foster care system. She was very good at telling half truths, hinting to things, making people infer lies for themselves before she even had to utter them herself.

She had no bad intensions in mind, she just wanted them to back off. She understood that they were protective, well, Sam and Teal'c were. But she wanted some space. She just wanted alone time to decompress. To process. The scene at _his_ cabin still rang in her mind, defecting back at her as if from a nightmare.

_She almost knocked on his door. Almost. Hesitating mid-knock, she dropped her hand and checked the doorknob. It was open. Considering herself invited inside, she opened the door, keeping one hand inside the front of her jacket so it could rest on her hand gun. If Jack was under the influence of an alien entity or even just being blackmailed she needed to be prepared. Three years on a front line field team had taught her that lesson the hard way._

_The door swung open and she made her footsteps as quite as possible as she walked in the house, her boots only making slight noise on the floor._

_"Jack?" She called out into the house, "Jack, you there?"_

_The correct response would have been yes, because she knew he was there. Where else would he be? He had nowhere to go. Whenever he felt vulnerable or angry he either went to a bar, hid out on base, or hid at his house. He rarely went to a bar. Danielle knew he liked to drink in private when he was brooding. He wasn't on base, Dani had checked with Sam before she left about that one, so he had to be here._

_Danielle had come at night. She wasn't sure why she had decided to, but for some reason she felt safer. Dani had come to his cabin with a mind set on a ass whipping or a heart to heart whythehelldidyouresignyouasshole talk. And she had no intension of leaving without that talk. Heart to hearts felt more open to her with the cover of darkness. She couldn't see his face as well and he couldn't see hers as well either. The perfect cover for an extremely less then pleasant conversation._

_Her finger tapped out a rhythm on the handle of her gun as she glanced at the stairs that led up to the roof. She sucked in a short breath and tested the first stair, nodded at it's stability, and walked up the staircase swiftly with no noise. Still, when she spotted the back of Jack's head while he stared at the night sky, Danielle knew that he knew she was there._

_He spared a short glance in her direction as she pulled up the nearest chair and sat down in it, grabbing a spare beer sitting on the railing._

_"Did I say I was sharing?" He raised an eyebrow and turned away, taking a pull from his own beer._

_"Did I say I was asking?" She retorted, popping the cap of the beer open with a snap._

_There was an arduous silence as Jack went back to staring at the sky._

_"Why?"_

_The single word whispered into the void of silence was understood instantly by the man sitting next to her, but being purposefully obtuse was his specialty._

_"Why what?"_

_Danielle sighed, "You know damn well what I'm talking about, Jack." Why did you steal it? Why didn't you give it back? Why did you leave without a single damned word?_

_He sighed and quirked a small smile at her that didn't reach his eyes, "To protect the earth."_

_"Bull shit."_

_"Well what more do you want from me?" He snapped._

_She turned to face him more fully, "The truth."_

_Another long silence, then, "The pentagon, the government, isn't giving us enough leeway, enough freedom to actually do our jobs. We can't protect the earth by being nice. Asking the aliens to pretty please not blow us up isn't gonna fly."_

_"Well stealing sure as hell isn't the answer."_

_"Why not? Got what we needed."_

_"Our allies are the ones we need. We don't need their technology, we need them!"_

_He scoffed, "Oh, please. We aren't given the resources to do what we need to do to expand the project and defend our planet."_

_Dani stared at him, "Expanding the project?" Her eyes narrowed, "What aren't you telling me?"_

_He took another swig of beer, "The pentagon was going to authorize two off world bases that would be defenses against the Goa'uld. I would lead one."_

_"And they changed their minds."_

_Jack's mouth twisted into something not quite a smile as he raised his bottle in a mock salute, "You always were a quick one."_

_"Is this all because of that? All out of spite? That does not sound like you. You aren't the one to do something this drastic for petty revenge. And you aren't the one to steal things instead of making allies. This isn't you. I know you."_

_"Guess you aren't as bright as you thought. Don't know me that well after all, do you, princess?"_

_Danielle wasn't sure how she felt. She might have been angry, sad, or just plain out indifferent, but at the moment she couldn't feel it. Her ears ere ringing. She could feel each beat of her heart pound against her chest. She had to know._

_"So, this whole friendship thing we've been working on…"_

_She waited with bated breath for his answer. He licked his lips and leaned back in his chair, "Guess there isn't much of a foundation after all, is there?"_

_At that moment every defense mechanism she possessed kicked into action. All emotions were pushed to the back. All but anger._

_"I guess it was a complete waste of time to bring you back from Edora, princess." She snarled._

_His face was cold. No emotion present but a trace of cruel condemnation, "Guess it was."_

_"Have a nice life." Her growl was pure animalistic rage and she poured her beer out on the deck, letting the glass drop to the floor, smashing into smithereens. Dani quickly stomped down the stairs and slammed the door on the way out. _

_She could feel tears pushing the edges of her will and pricking at her eyes. Digging out her car keys, she chirped them and hopped smoothly into the driver's seat, speeding off as fast as she could. She stared straight ahead, grey at the edges of her vision and Jack O'Neill in the rear view mirror._

Dani dropped her head onto her knees and felt a single tear trickle it's way stealthily down her face.

She felt like she should hate him for what he did. He lied and he deceived them for weeks. He cut into their souls with no remorse, no sense for what he was getting himself into, no sense for what he was damaging beyond repair.

But Danielle didn't care about that. No, she didn't mind the lies. She cared that he knew what to say.

Trust was her thing. Not that she was good at, but the thing that haunted her nightmares and badgered her while she was trapped in a waking state. Her parents had left her, not on purpose but they had left all the same. Her grandfather decided to abandon her. Countless foster families gave up on her. Dani was tricked too many times to count by other kids, by other people. She had been hurt too many times to not be cautious, and the time that she opened up, that she trusted Jack, he had found every one of her insecurities and pushed them into the open. And she didn't like that one bit. He had used her. He had betrayed her trust, not by lying to her, but by using her against herself.

So Danielle sat on the cold, hard, disconnected floor and decompressed. She let herself go for a while. And she knew Sam and Teal'c and Jack would figure out she was still extremely pissed off and the latter would try to fix things, but she couldn't deal with him right now. She didn't think she could deal with him at all anytime in the near future and be civil. She was a walking, talking mess of emotions and did not have any intension whatsoever of going near someone who would set her off.

So she sat.

! #$%^&*

NOTE 2:

I hope you enjoyed the story, the next chapter will be posted tomorrow! Please review if you have any thoughts at all about the story or how I could improve it. Thanks :)


	2. Chapter 2

NOTE:

Ok, so I lied. I said I would post a chapter the next day... which was about a week or more ago. So, to make up for it, I have posted four chapters this time (okay, so one of them is like 2 paragraphs, but still). As always I own nothing. Enjoy!

! #$%^&*

Sam was, for the first time in quite a while, unsure. She was worried and angry, but also sympathetic and sad. It was as if her emotions had been put in a giant blender.

Danielle was worrying her. With one small poke at the colonel she was gone. If she was anywhere near forgiving him, she would have ribbed him much, much more about his situation. Hell, if Sam had been anywhere near forgiving him at the time she would have ribbed him too. But Danielle had clammed up. Her office door was locked and Sam had a feeling banging on it and cussing would not make it magically open (no matter how much she wanted to get in there).

Angry, oh, she was definitely angry. Colonel O'Neill had lied. Well, she was fine with that. Orders are orders, but there was one thing that was nagging at her. The position he put them, her, in. Sam had to choose between the general and her team leader. Choosing either side would be considered disloyal to the other side. Turn Colonel O'Neill in for treason (or stealing) and loose his trust. Don't turn him in right away and loose the general's respect. It was a loose loose situation, and Sam hated those with a fiery passion.

Yet, at the same time as her anger, she could understand the colonel's point of view. Damn it, she tried not to but she couldn't help it. He had to protect them. He couldn't tell them, was ordered not to. So he lied to them and put them in those situations to protect them from what was really going on. And they were freezing him out.

But they all felt betrayed. Even Teal'c, who was mostly angry at the colonel because he felt that Danielle and Sam would appreciate his support. Every time she thought about the betrayal, the colonel's betrayal, it saddened her. Even in the different forms it took with each team member, she felt a void, an itching pressure inside of her filled with sadness and the desire to think about anything else but that single thing.

She knew he was sorry, which was why she was getting closer to forgiving him, but she still needed a release, some way to yell, to scream, to just let go of all the things she had to leave unsaid. If she said them, she would likely have to be court-martialed, yet she was still tempted to say them, call him all the names she wished, scream profanity at him, and tell him everything he did wrong on the undercover mission. But that couldn't happen, so she had to be sad instead.

Sam sighed and scrubbed a hand through her short blonde hair. She remembered when Colonel O'Neill had just returned.

_He walked down the ramp, all the traitors and SGC personnel alike clearing out of the 'gate room. Sam stood as natural as possible. She shoved all emotions aside. Danielle was beside her. Staring straight ahead, cold indifference shining in her electric blue eyes. Sam would have expected them to get duller, loose their shine but the emotions were sharp like glass. They cut into her gaze, and Sam could see them as clear as day. But as soon as the colonel stepped completely off the ramp onto the cold grey concrete, the emotions were gone in a flash. People always said that Danielle wore her emotions on her sleeves. They couldn't have been more wrong._

_The colonel offered a bright smile, obviously not receiving the mood of the room, "I'm back!" He said._

_Sam nodded, clearing her face of all emotion and figuring that making him sweat a little bit wouldn't be unjustified at all, "So you are, sir."_

_His smile slipped a little and Teal'c bowed his head, "I must congratulate you on a mission successfully completed, O'Neill."_

_Colonel O'Neill's eyes instantly brightened at Teal'c words. Sam assumed that he was just glad he hadn't lost all of them completely, "Thank you, T… eal'c." He added the end of Teal'c's name to cover up his use of the nickname. Sam mentally nodded in approval. He wasn't to that point yet._

_Teal'c titled his head to the side, nodded, and then the entire matter was water under the bridge for him. Sam envied his ability to forgive, but, then again, Teal'c was always trying to catch up with Earth customs and he probably just decided to roll with it for the time being._

_Sam shook her head and sighed, allowing a smile to tug at the corner of her mouth. Relief at the entire situation's closure swelled within her, "It's good to have you back, sir. And congrats as well on the successful mission."_

_Relief shone clearly through his eyes, "Thanks, Carter."_

_All eyes shifted to Danielle. She met the colonel's gaze and said nothing. He took a breath and started walking out of the room, "Dani?"_

_She nodded and turned to walk next to him. Sam heard snippets of their conversation. Excuses and awkward pauses floated back to her and Sam sighed. Oh, this situation was far from over._

Sam shook her head and shoved her chair back from her lab surface, standing up. She started walking out of the lab, before hesitating, cursing silently, and walking back to sit in her chair again. Maybe it would be best to wait the situation out. Without interference, maybe it would resolve itself. Sam rolled her eyes at her ridiculous thought. Ya, right, resolve itself. Sam snorted softly. This would fix itself when Sam willingly kissed McKay, aka when hell froze over.

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NOTE 2:

So, there's Sam! Hope you enjoyed. Also, please review! I would REALLY love that :)


	3. Chapter 3

NOTE:

Hello! Here's Jack's POV, as well as what could possibly the shortest chapter ever. As always, I own nothing. Enjoy!

! #$%^&*

Apparently the human race uses 5-10% of their brains.

At the moment, Jack was pretty sure he was only using about 2%.

He was such an imbecile. How could he assume that they would just accept his quick apology and move on? Sure, he did expect to have to do some ass-kissing, but he certainly did not expect the less then warm welcome from his team. Glaciers would be considered warm compared to them. Sure, Teal'c had tried to be nice, Carter had made some effort to cover up how angry she was at him with some nice words, and Danielle had even made that poke at him with the straw line. Besides that, though, there was just coldness.

Nothing. Nada. Zip. Zilch.

And he had no idea what to do about it. So, he decided to defer to the master of all these types of problems.

Time.

For the moment, he would have to wait out the storm and hope it didn't hurt anyone while it ran its course.

! #$%^&*

NOTE 2:

Okay, so I know that was short but I didn't feel like going too in-depth into Jack's head until later. Also, please review! Thanks :)


	4. Chapter 4

NOTE:

Hi! Here is Teal'c's POV (and I promise this chapter is longer). As always, I own nothing. Enjoy!

! #$%^&*

People of the Tau'ri often said that patience is a virtue. Teal'c could be patient. He could be the most patient person in the entire galaxy if he wanted to. But when the consequences could be most dire, he did not possess that particular virtue. In this particular situation, patience could be a necessity or a hindrance to his ultimate goal. Therefore Teal'c was walking, attempting to decide.

He wandered the corridors, appearing to the common person to be heading purposefully somewhere, but in fact the opposite was true, Teal'c was simply wandering with no particular location in mind. The only thing on his mind was the current obstruction that his team faced. Perhaps the most dangerous and virulent adversary that they had ever faced: Themselves.

Teal'c had always considered himself quite stubborn, and had bestowed the same description upon his teammates. Yet in this case it worked against them and for them. Paradoxes were most confusing and frustrating but yet they were still true. Teal'c's own stubborn streak would allow for him to fix his teammates' predicament and his teammates' stubbornness would attempt to make Teal'c's life incredibly harder while he attempted to rectify the unfortunate situation they all faced.

General Hammond had announced his intension to take SG-1 out of the rotation for one week or more until they had put aside their differences. Teal'c had initially announced his approval of General Hammond's plan but upon deliberation he had come to an indecisive conclusion. Perhaps the separation would be good for his team, allow them space to heal and "cool off". However, Teal'c knew his teammates well, and this break may very well bring the members of his team even further apart then they already were. His mind flashed back to a moment after O'Neill had declared his intent to resign and was escorted off the base.

_Major Carter sighed, shut the door to Danielle Jackson's office, and lowered herself into the nearest chair, "Well, It's official." She declared with another melancholy sigh, "He's retired."_

_Danielle Jackson snorted, and contempt laced her voice, "Figures, him running away when things get a little tough."_

_Teal'c raised a single eyebrow and turned to face her more fully, "Danielle Jackson, your attitude is not helping the situation." He chided her._

_"__And besides." Major Carter spoke up, "He probably got an ultimatum from the general: Retire or get court-martialed." She shook her head, "He didn't get a choice in the matter."_

_Danielle Jackson visibly deflated. She let out a sigh and pinched the bridge of her nose, "I'm sorry, It's just-" She drew in a slightly shaking breath, "It's been a long day."_

_Teal'c exchanged looks of trepidation over Danielle Jackson's emotional state with Major Carter._

_Major Carter nodded, "I know, we just have to keep positive. There has to be something we can do. This behavior is not like him. Not like him at all. I- It can't be."_

_Teal'c frowned, hearing a hint of hesitation mixed with hurt in her voice, "Major Carter, did O'Neill say something to you that caused you distress?"_

_She hesitated and dropped her head onto her chest for a moment. There was silence. Then she looked up and leaned forward, her arms resting on a book of ancient Japanese proverbs that was laying casually on the desk, "I... well, I stopped him in the hallway and confronted him about it. I tried to be blunt, well, as blunt as I can be with a superior officer, and told him that he just wasn't acting like himself at all. He, ah, told me that ever since he joined SG-1 he hadn't been acting like himself, but he was acting like himself now." She shook her head and her forehead crinkled with concentration, "I mean, that… that was uncalled for, in my opinion. He would never say that. Never."_

_Danielle Jackson frowned, "You're right. There has to be something wrong. He- he's acting sort of like when…" She stopped abruptly._

_"__What?"_

_She shrugged awkwardly, "I just… He- he's just sort of acting like he did when his son had just died. On the original Abydos mission."_

_Silence reigned in the room once more. Teal'c scooted his chair slightly closer to the two of his teammates, "I concur, but I do not believe we can help O'Neill from here. We must go see him."_

_Major Carter's eyebrows rose, "All of us? He would probably feel like we were ganging up on him."_

_"__Good point." Danielle Jackson said, "Maybe only one of us should go."_

_There was a brief pause, until Major Carter broke it, "Who?"_

_There was a sigh, and all their eyes swiveled to Danielle Jackson, "Maybe… maybe we decide all this tomorrow. Take the rest of the day off… as much as we can since we probably should stay on base for a while more." The archaeologist looked hopeful._

_Teal'c bowed his head, glad for the suggestion, "I concur with your suggestion. Danielle Jackson. Perhaps we can 'take a load off' for the remainder of this day."_

_Major Carter visibly perked up at their thread of conversation, "I like that idea." She reached behind her and in a few moments came up with three waters and tossed two of them to her teammates. She cracked open her bottle and heisted only for a second before raising it in the air, "To being able to commiserate over our miserable lives in good company."_

_Danielle Jackson laughed and the corner of Teal'c mouth turned up. Then the brunette sobered up suddenly. She raised her water bottle._

_"__To friendship."_

_Teal'c and Major Carter both raised their bottles as well, echoing her sentiment._

_"__To friendship."_

Teal'c thought over that moment. They had been brought closer together. O'Neill had been pushed away, simply from him not being present. Teal'c blinked and brought himself out of his thoughts, unsurprised that he had unconsciously found his way to General Hammond's office. He had come to his decision. Break would be detrimental to his team's relationship. He internally nodded and knocked on General Hammond's door. He would convince him to suspend the break and put SG-1 back in the mission rotation.

He would save his team.

! #$%^&*

NOTE 2:

Okay, so there's that. Hope you liked it and even if you didn't, post a review and tell me why! Thanks :)


	5. Chapter 5

NOTE:

So here is Janet's POV of the situation. This chapter is also the longest of the four, by the way. As always, I own nothing. Enjoy!

! #$%^&*

At the risk of using an extremely overused saying, Janet slammed her hand down on her desk.

"I'm a doctor, damn it, not a marriage councilor!"

A nurse poked her head into her office, "Um, Dr. Fraiser, are you alright? I heard a yell."

Janet sighed and exited her email, "I'm fine Rebecca, just a little tired."

She nodded sympathetically and went back into the main infirmary.

Janet pinched the bridge of her nose. She was so tired, but not in the conventional sense. She was tired of the arguments, of the anger, and of her having to be called in to fix it. Every team had its moments of tension and arguments where they were all pissed at one another and didn't speak to each other or bickered like children, and every time Janet was called in to fix it. Not a phycologist or a psychiatrist. Even a marriage councilor would do in this situation, and that was essentially what Janet was forced to be. And she hated it. So, so very much.

But orders were orders, and they had to be followed. She sighed again and checked her watch. Briefing in a half hour. That gave her just enough time to talk to everyone she could on the base and get the current situation. Gossip never usually made it near the CMO, and she usually was quite glad for that. But right now it worked against her. She needed to know everything, even false, about SG-1's situation. And, as much as she hated to admit it, the gossip mill was the best place to go. So she got up, slipped on her lab coat, stretched, and started out the door.

"I'll be back in maybe 45 minutes. Page me if you need me." She said to a nearby nurse and, luckily, he didn't ask questions, just nodded and went back to what he was doing before she had interrupted.

Her heels clicked in a steady rhythm on the grey concrete, and people stepped to the side to let her pass. She smiled internally. Despite her diminutive form, it was good to know that her presence still evoked respectful (and sometimes fearful) responses. She walked for quite a while until her eagle eyes narrowed in on Major Ferreti and, as he stepped aside, she snagged his sleeve and pulled him into an empty lab, shutting the door behind her. Her mind ruefully supplied that the gossip mill would probably be buzzing excitedly with assumptions at what she had just done. She crossed her arms over her chest.

"Gossip mill and betting pool. Fill me in."

He raised an eyebrow and smirked, "Why, doctor, I was under the assumption that you disapproved of those things."

She raised a graceful eyebrow back at him, "Do you remember your mission, oh, about two months ago to that village? Would you like my findings to somehow make it out to the entire base?"

A crimson blush started creeping up his neck, "Okay, okay, doc, you win." He took a breath to speak, then paused, "Anything specific you wanna know?"

"Things about SG-1."

He nodded, looking speculative, "Alright then. So, gossip." He paused for a second to gather his thoughts, "So there is the usual bets and gossip on who's in who's pants, the next disastrous mission, previous disastrous missions, when or if Teal'c will actually laugh at a joke, the next big injury of the team, and other stuff like that, but I get the feeling your not interested in that, are you doc?"

"You're feeling would be correct."

He nodded, "Okay, so the most recent gossip is about O'Neill's undercover mission. Everyone on the base has come to the conclusion that Carter, Teal'c, and Dr. J are all pissed at him and he will try to make amends soon. A few people overheard Carter talking to Teal'c, and they say she's mad about the position O'Neill put them in."

Janet shifted her stance slightly, "What position?"

"If they turned in O'Neill when he stole the device they would have lost his trust, but if they didn't they would have lost the general's trust. Stuck between a rock and a hard place."

Janet nodded, "Okay."

"Now, Danielle. From what I've heard, there was some disastrous encounter off base or somewhere remote on the base. Bad things were said and our best guess is that she is mad about that encounter and how he lied to them. She's a civilian, so we're guessing she won't accept the whole gist about him being under orders and forced to lie to them."

Another nod from Janet and he continued.

"So then there's Teal'c. We can't figure him out at all. Maybe he's angry about lying, or maybe he's just being protective of Carter and Dr. J. We can only speculate."

"So, the betting pools?" She asked, "There has to be at least a few." Janet took a small step toward him.

"There's actually only one big one. When, how, and where will the argument or yelling match happen. It's going to happen, that's a given, but the bet is on the details of it."

Janet checked her watch. Ten minutes until the briefing, "Anything else?"

He shook his head, "Nope."

"Alright." She said, "Thank you, Ferreti."

He waved a hand in the air, "Oh, no problem doc. Anytime."

Janet shook her head, "Oh, I assure you, this is a one time occurrence." She stepped away from him and opened the door, bright light flooding inside the previously dim room, "Oh, and major, this stays between us, or else your little secret will be all over this base."

He smiled and nodded, "Gotcha, doc."

She narrowed her eyes at him for a moment before smiling slightly and walking out of the room.

She let her feet fall into a familiar rhythm as she walked to the briefing room, leaving her mind free to wander.

Sam was hurt. Danielle was hurt. Teal'c was hurt. Janet had known all that without having to talk to Ferreti. Colonel O'Neill had hurt them all. Badly. And now she had to fix it.

But, her mind supped, it wasn't her that was fixing them. She was just nudging them along. Eventually, they would fix themselves. They just needed to open up. They needed someone to prod them, even force them, to be honest with the colonel and themselves. That was the only task he was going to do, but it was a killer. It was going to be very difficult. And she knew it probably wouldn't be solved on the mission, Maybe a few or one of the teammates would be okay after, but not all of them.

And she had to be prepared for everything. There would be a blowout argument. She, and everyone on the base apparently, knew that. And she had to be there. Whether it be after the mission or during. Whatever was said, she would have brought it out into the open during the mission, so she had to be there to help pick up the pieces and govern the argument as best she could whenever and wherever it happened.

Janet stepped into the briefing room, surprised to be the last one there. She glanced at her watch. There was still a minute or two before the briefing and usually a few of them would run in at the last second. But no, they were all present and accounted for. SG-1, completely normal if she ignored the fact that no one was making eye contact with the colonel and that someone could cut the tension in the room with a knife.

"Dr. Fraiser. Take a seat so we can begin."

Janet nodded and scanned the room. Instead of the normal seating arrangement, Colonel O'Neill sat alone on the side nearest to the door while Teal'c, Sam, and Dani all sat not he other side of the table. Janet could have analyzed this obvious distance of the colonel and his team until her mind exploded, so instead she elected to ignore it for the moment and took a seat. She slid into the nearest open one, which happened to be next to the colonel. The general started talking, and, once she had gleaned the most vitally important information, zoned him out. Her eyes discreetly drifted to the man next to her.

He was tense, his muscles tight, contradicting the relaxed appearance of his face. She could practically see the knots in his neck. Right now, she thought, he would be a chiropractor's nightmare. She focused in on his hands. Instead of the normal fidget every so often, his index finger tapped out a nervous beat on the wooden table top, his other fingers joining in a few times here and there. His behavior was all out of whack, but to fix it Janet would have to deal with the other three people in the room.

Her eyes snapped to Sam. She was listening to the general closely. Too closely, in Janet's opinion. Sam's eyes strayed over to the colonel every few minutes, and then flicked away just as fast, her eyes darting to the general and then down to the notepad in front of her, which Janet could see had equations completely unrelated to the briefing on it. Then Sam, after scribbling some more numbers that made Janet's head spin, glanced at Danielle. Janet followed her line of sight.

Danielle was relaxed. She appeared not to have a care in the world, despite one tiny detail. Her hand. Two of her fingers nervously rolled a black ball point pen back and forth. It was silent and nobody but Janet had appeared to notice so far. Janet zeroed in on her eyes and noticed the slightly glazed look, the look of someone far, far away. She wasn't even remotely paying attention to the briefing, Janet realized. That was… so unlike her.

The analytical part of Janet kicked into overdrive. Maybe Dani was trying to compensate for everything. Janet knew she had been hurt, and maybe she was just overbalancing with this… this drastic difference in her personality. Dani listened at briefings. She wasn't even pretending to listen. Dani didn't have obvious nervous ticks other then pushing up her glasses. The way she played with her pen was a blatant contradiction of this. Danielle forgave. She hadn't forgiven anyone yet. It was as simple as that.

Her gaze turned to Teal'c. He was listening closely to the general, probably ready to inform his teammates of what was going on, as they were all not paying attention. But Janet could't help but notice the way he was sitting. Somehow he had perfected a position that was shifted just enough away from Colonel O'Neill to just barely show that he was giving him the cold shoulder, close enough to Sam to show support, and with just enough of a tilt of the head to encompass Danielle into his circle of encouragement. Janet was amazed. He didn't even seem to need to concentrate to maintain this posture. He shifted like a completely normal person, not completely statue-like, but with every twitch and slight adjustment to his position, he still managed to maintain his message.

"…and Doctor, do you have anything to add?"

The general raised an eyebrow and she nearly flushed scarlet at being caught not listening. She cleared her throat and tried to act normal.

"Oh, no sir. Everything is in order from a medical standpoint." Janet nodded concisely.

The general took a moment more to examine all of them before nodding himself, "Very well. Dismissed."

Danielle jumped up and quickly made her way out of the room with a muttered, "General."

Janet saw the colonel's face fall just a little bit at Danielle's quick exit, barely noticeable to the everyday passerby but blatantly obvious to Janet's trained eye.

Then Sam stood up, offering a curt nod to the colonel and then a respectful, "Sir." directed at General Hammond before exiting the room. Janet noticed how she left the room as if like a child walking through the dark who just heard a strange noise behind them, trying not to run away as fast as their legs could take them.

Teal'c was the next to exit. He stood gracefully and didn't even acknowledge Colonel O'Neill, only giving a quick but respectful bow to the general before leaving.

The colonel stood and stretched, smiling at them weakly, "Well, see you in a half hour, general. Doc." He nodded and walked out of the room. Janet instantly turned to General Hammond.

"General, I can't solve this in one mission. I'm sorry. This mission is one of the short one's. It only lasts about 7 hours. I can't solve this in that time. I can do what I can but some of it will have to be dealt with on Earth if I'm not given more time."

He sighed and ran a hand over his bald head, his Texas drawl becoming even more prominent with every syllable, "Doctor, I wish I could give you more time, I really do, but this is the most boring and non-exciting mission I could come up with on short notice. It's the best I can do, and if I extended the time, which was already previously set, it would raise a few eyebrows. I'm sorry, Dr. Fraiser, but you'll just have to do with what you have."

She sighed, "Yes, sir."

"Now. I will see you in a half hour. You had better get prepared."

Recognizing a dismissal when it was she heard it, she nodded and stood, "General."

"Doctor."

She smiled at him, a flickering, almost nonexistent smile, but a smile all the same, and walked out the door.

She started for her office. She needed to close up some of her files and alert Dr. Winters that he needed to take over for the next 7-8 hours. She made a mental note to give him a nice bottle of bourbon next time she got the chance to buy one.

Suddenly she slammed into a huge, well muscled wall. She backed up a step and blinked at him.

"Oh, hey Teal'c. Sorry about that." When he didn't say anything, she shifted awkwardly, "Do you need something?"

He bowed his head, "Indeed I do, Doctor Fraiser. Is there a place we may talk in private?"

"Um…" She glanced around the hallway and spotted an empty room, "How about in here?"

"That will suffice."

She nodded and walked inside, Teal'c closing the door behind him and flicking on the lights. Her mind internally groaned. Great, she had shut herself into two empty rooms with two guys in the span of two hours with witnesses to the fact every time. Great. She cursed the gossip mill silently before turning her full attention to Teal'c.

"Ok, so what was so important that we had to hide in an empty lab to discuss it?" Janet questioned as she crossed her arms, although she was almost positive what his answer would be.

"I wish to discuss the upcoming mission." He paused for emphasis, letting that sink in. Then, "Dr. Frasier, you have not been assigned to accompany us to P3X-973 because of the reason you have given us."

It wasn't a question, but a statement in fact. So she remained silent while he spoke again.

"If I am to infer correctly, you have been assigned to assist in the resolving of the ongoing conflict between O'Neill, Major Carter, and Danielle Jackson."

A short nod from Janet prompted him to speak again, "I will assist you in your mission."

Janet nodded with the barest of smiles dusting her face, "Thank you Teal'c. I'm going to need all the help I can get, and your cooperation would be sic a great help."

"Than you shall have it." He declared instantly, "What is your plan of action?"

"So," She started, "I have a feeling that if we can get Sam to open up and resolve her differences with the colonel, then we can recruit her help in helping Dani."

A single eyebrow arched, "This may be a much more difficult task then you make it out to be, Doctor Fraiser."

The doctor sighed, "I know, I just… It's the best thing we can do at this point. Resolve Sam's issues and start on Dani's in the seven hours we have. Then finish everything else on Earth."

He nodded, "This is an acceptable and logical plan, Doctor Fraiser. You have the mind of a true healer and a brave warrior."

She went over to the door and opened it, "Thank you, Teal'c. You don't know how much that means to me." She glanced at her watch, "Ok, so we have 20 minutes until we have to be down in the 'gate room. We can both prepare for what has to be done next, and then get the job done. Sound good?"

"Indeed it does. I shall see you when our mission commences."

Janet nodded and walked out of the room, her heels clicking on the floor.

Time flies when you're stressed out and not at all prepared for what's about to happen. Ten minutes passed in a flash and she had to shove all of her remaining necessary items in her pack before running to get changed. She looked at her watch again as she laced up he combat boots and was started to see that she had two minutes. She raced down the corridors, barking orders for people to get out of her way in her best medical you-will-do-whatever-the-hell-I-say-right-this-second-or-so-help-me-God-I-will-throw-the-Hipporactic-oath-out-the-window-and-make-you-cry-like-a-little-girl voice.

She arrived just in time, the voice of Walter announcing the locking of the first chevron ringing out of existence as she stopped next to SG-1. All were present, and none were making eye contact. Except Teal'c. He caught her eye and did the slightest of head tips.

Janet felt reassured. She felt safe now. She was going to fix this broken team, and nothing could stop her now. What could possibly go wrong, after all?

_Famous last words, _Janet thought as the last chevron slammed into place and the blue event horizon blossomed into existence, _way to curse the mission before it even starts._

! #$%^&*

NOTE 2:

So, that is all I have written for now, hope you liked it. If you have any thoughts, reviews, or even ways you want this mission to go please let me know. Thanks :)


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